Manufacturers are increasingly turning to exotic metals and ceramics to form intricate components, and in particular, to form electronic components. In this respect, metals such as iridium, manganese, cobalt, and platinum, are useful in forming components, such as read-write heads of magnetic storage devices.
Often, such components are formed using processes, such as lapping, grinding, polishing, and cleaning These processes typically use fluids to transfer heat and swarf from component surfaces. However, typical processing fluids are water-based and can lead to corrosion and undesirable oxidation of component surfaces formed of metals and ceramics.
To prevent corrosion and oxidation, manufactures are turning to hydrocarbon-based fluid formulations. However, typical hydrocarbon formulations have low conductivity and can lead to electrostatic build-up in articles being formed. Electrostatic discharge in such articles can result in damaged components or components with poor surface and performance qualities. Typically, damaged and poor performing components are generally discarded, leading to increased production costs.
As such, an improved processing fluid and method of forming components would be desirable.